The American Culture : Key Values

is very different from other states. Greetings and goodbyes are generally short, and friendly.Dress is another part where American informality will be most obvious, maybe even shocking.

Cultures vary all over the world. The different states across the globe have their own cultures—the way they speak, the foods they eat, the clothes they wear are how these clothes are worn, marriage, the type of music, what is right from what is not, how people treat their visitors or how they behave (Zimmermann, 2015). Code of Ethics defines how a person conducts and behaves himself in a situational basis. Here are some of the ethical practices of Americans. In the US, greetings are casual (Kwintessential, 2014). In introducing everyone to each other, the use of first name, the showing of genuine smile, and the shaking of hands are enough (Kwintessential, 2014). If the occasion if formal, the use of titles and surnames signify courtesy

The Chinese are very traditional in their culture and etiquette. Their greeting is very different from an American greeting, and varies depending on the occasion. If being introduced, wait for the person introducing you to finish before you engage in conversation or offer a handshake. It is customary to have someone introduce you, rather than you introduce yourself. When having to introduce yourself during a business meeting or formal occasion, it is proper to state your name, job title, and the company you work for. In more casual occasions giving just your

This difference in weight on the importance of politeness over directness is a critical sociolinguistic difference between English speakers and German speakers, and stems from a cultural difference in content of conversation. Whereas German speakers value the information-conveying function in a conversation, English speakers value the social bonding aspect (Evans Davis 218). However, this does not imply that Germans are simply impolite; in instances of broad social distance between Germans, Germans use more advanced politeness elements, similar to English speakers (Stranovská et al., 769). Co-workers are considered to have a closer social distance than the distance

Edward Hall notes that in the United States people feel comfortable engaging in social conversation that involves strangers and acquaintances at a distance of roughly 4–7 feet. One study from the Journal of Social Issues found that people make first impressions within 39 milliseconds and 67% of those first impressions are accurate (Bar, Neta, & Linz, 2006). This statistic, along with Edwards Hall’s research, makes it evident that how you approach someone and the distance at which you stand can be the difference between a life-long relationship and one that never gets off the ground. It is also possible to squash built rapport by mistaking the degree to which you relate on a personal level by overstepping from public to personal

Hey, Lennys! I don't really remember for how long now I've been reading you or even how I got to know you. I'm far from American culture and didn't even know Lenna or Girls (I don't have an HBO subscription either!), but I do remember that I've been following you since the very first newsletters.

Traveling in the military leads me all over the world. It is a lot of fun to travel and learn about different cultures. My experiences lead me to not making what I’d call mistakes but rather introduces learning experiences. Before looking at the chart I notice that the French always say monsieur when speaking each other. When I spent some time in Spain I detected everyone enjoyed the leisure of time. Everyone moved slowly and patiently as if every day was the weekend. I rarely see any Japanese man or woman shake hands and even more rarely hug anyone. I always assumed it was simply frowned upon by everyone in the country.

In America, a greeting consisting of a 3-5 second handshakes and maintained eye contact is adequate. Upon arrival, members of the meeting are usually offered something to drink, usually water, tea, or coffee.

People from different cultures and different countries perceive communication differently. American speakers who are accustomed to a certain level of feedback might find audiences in Finland and Norway to be inexpressive.

First, Americans tend to be very straightforward and express their feeling s directly to the listener, while Thai people tend to seek harmony, avoid saying things that would hurt people 's feelings, and prefer not to express their own personal feelings in order to avoid conflict and maintain their relationship with the listener. In my life, this means that I 'm always afraid of having conflicts with other people and as a result, have difficulty expressing my feelings to others. I always thought that Americans were self-centered and rude because they are so quick to speak their own personal feelings without any concern about the listener 's feelings. However, studying the textbook made me realize that Americans are neither self-centered nor rude. They simply want to get things done faster by stating the points needed to solve the problem

American culture is portrayed as that of every other countries traditions, rituals, and cultures. As Americans, do we know our culture to be as anything other than that of a melting pot? That being said, is it ok to say for us to say,”I can take your culture because it’s meant to be shared anyway." Most of us have lived here our entire lives and it’s what we have grown accustomed to. Can we speak on anyone else’s behalf? I can. Even though I am American by birth, my blood is Mexican. I may not face the same hardships in this country to the extent of that of someone who is of Middle Eastern decent such as my land and oil being drained, or my people being racially abused and frowned upon so negatively, especially in air ports. I hate "Cinco de mayo," and unfortunately for minorities, culture and everything else in the U.S. is controlled and ruled by a system that caters only to the white.

In the United States people use a communication style that is less rigid than the Asian style. Americans are spontaneous and have no qualms about reaching out and touching someone they are speaking to. They offer opinions freely and have less stiff boundaries between their public and private selves. Americans are often criticized by other cultures for being too outgoing and friendly. Asian cultures, including the Chinese, are more reserved. They offer much fewer opinions and often refrain from physical contact. Asians are more evasive, and more private. In China, being too blunt can be perceived as being rude, it often makes Chinese people uncomfortable. Chinese people prefer subtle conversation and an indirect delivery when speaking on their thoughts and feelings. Sometimes Chinese people nod when Americans speak even if they do not agree with what you are saying. This is a sign of respect, and to honor the other person’s opinion, not to be confused with

Despite the fact that the phenomenon of politeness is widespread in the entire world, after looking into different cultures it is possible to notice that in each one it reveals itself in various ways; it can have a small number of differences or it may differ starting from the basics. This is determined by a range of cultural specifications, customs, and way of life (Wierzbicka 2003). The essence of politeness is usually lies much deeper than in speaking syntax and language structure. An ignorance of given actions can result in misunderstanding and cultural stereotyping, which is highly dangerous to communication (Leech

The first three to five minutes of your interaction should be in exchanging pleasantries. This is another great way to build rapport. The rest of the meeting should revolve around business, sales or problem solving. When the interaction is over, conclude with another professional handshake and thank them. I know this sounds like common sense, and it is! However, my observations lead me to believe that in many sales and customer service interactions, common sense is not all that common. We must strive to get back to the basics and consistently apply the basics with everyone we encounter. Sometimes we can get so caught up in all

Problems often occur due to misunderstandings, which come up as a result of cultural differences in methods of negotiation and handling conflict (Adler, 1986; Adler and Graham, 1989). The Americans who are associated with individualism believe in confrontation while the collectivist Chinese try to avoid conflict and heated arguments (Hofstede, 1984). This could lead to misunderstandings when the two parties communicate. For example the Americans might think that silence from their Asian colleague is a sign of consent when actually it isn’t. The Chinese might misunderstand their American colleagues’ arguments and confrontation as lack of respect. Even in negotiation, which is the two sided exchange of signals between parties, people from different cultures interpret signals differently; negotiators might thus misread the signals or transmit an unmeant message. Thomas & Pondy (1977) have suggested that often ones words, facial expressions, body language and speech lead to attributions of intent that could cause conflict. Augsburger (1992)